Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership, on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, in Omaha, Neb., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Associated Press/Nati Harnik

Nearly two dozen candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination and each is making the case they are the best candidate to face off against President Donald Trump next year.

But the ever-changing terrain of the campaign proves they are not immune to strange gaffes or awkward moments.

Here are 14 strange things that have happened on the campaign trail so far.

With Labor Day nearing, the 2020 presidential campaigns are kicking it into high gear. 22 candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination and each is making the case they are the best candidate to face off against President Donald Trump next year.

But the ever-changing terrain of the campaign proves they are not immune to gaffes, awkward moments or encountering the strangest of situations.

Shortly after kicking off her presidential run, Sen. Elizabeth Warren decided to mark the occasion with a beer.

"I'm going to get me a beer," the Massachusetts senator said in her kitchen. She invited her husband, Bruce Mann, to join but he politely declined. Warren then thanked her husband for being with her in their home.

The video drew some mockery on social media for appearing too forced, CBS News reported.

Daily Show host Trevor Noah weighed in on Warren's Instagram Live video, saying, "It really is an interesting choice from Warren, just drinking alone in her kitchen. I guess she just wanted to start her campaign the same way Hillary ended hers, you know?"

But it didn't take long for the former Texas representative to fly too close to the sun and tumble. Just a few hours into his nascent campaign, he joked that his wife raised their three children mostly on her own.

"I just got a call from my wife, Amy, who is back in El Paso, Texas where she is raising, sometimes with my help, Ulysses who is 12, Molly who is 10, and their little brother Henry who is 8 years old," O'Rourke said.

His remarks were widely criticized as insensitive and nonchalant. O'Rourke apologized a few days later and said he'd be more thoughtful talking about his marriage in the future.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar told an audience to clap for her when one of her lines fell flat during a CNN town hall.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar was pitching her crossover appeal and election victories in conservative districts at a CNN town hall in April, expecting it to be an applause line.

"When I started running for office, the other senator was Republican, the governor was Republican and three of our four constitutional officers were Republican," Klobuchar said. And then I started running, and every single time I've run, I've won every single congressional district in my state, including [former Rep.] Michele Bachmann's."

But her message fell flat with the audience.

"That's when you guys are supposed to cheer," she said, prodding the crowd into applauding.

Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to have uncomfortable interactions with women and girls on the campaign trail.

Former US Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
AP

A self-described "tactile politician," former Vice President joe Biden vowed to be "more mindful and respectful of people's personal space" after four women said he had made them feel uncomfortable with how he had touched them.

But since launching his presidential bid in April, Biden has raised some eyebrows over his interactions with women and girls on the campaign trail.

In May, he told a ten-year-old girl "you're as bright as you are good-looking," took her to the assembled press at the back of the room and placed his hands on her shoulders as he talked.

Then in a June campaign swing through Iowa, Biden met a 13-year-old girl and then turned to her brothers, saying, "Keep the guys away from her."

Rep. Eric Swalwell compared the Democrats to the heroes from the "Avengers" comic book and the Republicans to the survivalist characters in the "Hunger Games."

At an Iowa Democratic party candidate forum in June, former candidate Eric Swalwell compared the Democrats to the heroes from the "Avengers" comic book and the Republicans to the hardcore survivalist characters in the "Hunger Games" books.

Swalwell said: "To my fellow candidates, I consider us all a part of being 'The Avengers.' The Republicans in 2016, that was 'The Hunger Games.' We are in this, and with your help and support, to save this country we love so much."

It drew mixed reactions online, with Trump organization executive Donald Trump Jr. being among the most prominent Republicans to rip into Swalwell for the comparison.

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper leaned into his centrist platform at the California Democratic Primary Convention — and got repeatedly booed.

Gov. John Hickenlooper
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has struggled to break out in the national polls. And when he does register, its usually in the low single digits.

Yet his moderate image may not capture the combative mood of the party's left wing — and its been visible on the campaign trail.

At the California Democratic Primary Convention, Hickenlooper leaned into his centrist platform at the California Democratic Primary Convention and was booed when he said "socialism is not the answer."

He lost the room again when he spoke out against universal healthcare and parts of the Green New Deal.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand awkwardly unwound at a gay bar in Iowa.

Kirsten Gillibrand.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Gillibrand has already received some blowback for trying to run "a cool campaign" that may not be so cool. She ran an ad where she played beer pong with water and was also dinged for posting a workout video.

The junior senator from New York was on a three-day campaign swing through Iowa in early June to mark LGBT Pride month. She spent part of her time preparing drinks for the crowd, according to the Des Moines Register.

Then her campaign posted a video on its Instagram story of Gillibrand drinking and yelling, "Gay rights!"

Author Marianne Williamson said at the first primary debates that Democrats need more than plans to defeat Trump in next year's presidential election.

Marianne Williamson debating on June 27
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Author and spiritual lecturer Marianne Williamson said at the second night of Democratic primary debates in late June that the raft of plans that all the candidates are rolling out are not enough to defeat President Donald Trump.

Williamson garnered attention for responding with off-beat and odd answers. Williamson later said that her first call if she were elected president would be to the prime minister of New Zealand to say that the United States would be the best place for a child to grow up.

She was the most searched candidate on Google that night and her previous tweets made her an overnight internet meme.

New York City Bill de Blasio spoke of his love of ska music.

Since launching his presidential bid in June New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has had a few moments that drew mockery from social media for trying to appear relatable. During an interview on CNN's New Day, he shared that he had a love for ska music.

He also posted a series of text messages with his son, Dante, before appearing at the first Democratic primary debates.

In the exchanges, he asks Dante for advice on how to come off as relatable.

He responds that de Blasio can establish credibility by sharing the story of his marriage, reflecting on "how hard it is to find, like, 'the one' on tinder." Then he advises de Blasio to talk about his accomplishments in the city after making NBA jokes.

"I can't be eating crap on the trail too often, because I need to stay in presidential form," Yang said. He added no one wants "a president who doesn't seem they can run a mile."

Yang continued criticizing Trump, saying, "Like, what could Donald Trump possibly be better than me at? An eating contest?"

He finished his extended riff by saying that Trump could beat him at ""something that involved, like, trying to keep something on the ground and having really large body mass — like, if there was a hot-air balloon that was rising and you needed to try and keep it on the ground, he would be better than me at that, because he is so fat."

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